ISC Legend, Peter Meredith started and was the winning pitcher for Wasatch Properties and some of the former Larry Miller Toyota teammates shutout Roseville Eagles 6-0. Roseville will need to win one elimination game tonight in order to get to Championship Sunday.
Thanks to Kary Moore for this info.
Roseville Eagles (3-0) win again, 12-0 in 4 innings vs. Funkey Monkey, Hayward, CA. Roseville is awaiting to play the winner of the Peter Meredith led Wasatch Properties, Utah vs. Comox Valley Cannons.
Thanks to Kary Moore for this info.
By Don Winger
Thirty-one years ago, thousands of softball fans descended on Currie Stadium in Midland’s Emerson Park to watch the Amateur Softball Association Men’s National Fastpitch Championship that featured 22 teams.
Starting on Aug. 13, fans will have the chance to see the top men’s fastpitch teams again when the Midland Explorers and Mickey’s Sleds play host to the International Softball Conference World Tournament.
The 1979 tournament turned into a special event when Midland’s McArdle Pontiac-Cadillac captured the national title.
A crowd of more than 9,500 packed Currie Stadium that Saturday night in September to watch as McArdle defeated reigning champion York Barbell of Reading, Pa., to claim the championship.
McArdle, emerging from the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination tourney, defeated Reading 1-0 in 10 innings to force the “if-necessary” game.
Bob Ryan and Owen “Fog” Walford teamed up to pitch McArdle to a 3-1 win in the title-clinching game. McArdle was managed by Terry Collins, who later went on to manage baseball’s Houston Astros of the National League and the Anaheim Angels of the American League.
McArdle was made up of the top fastpitch players in Michigan. Prominent among the Midland players on the roster, in addition to Ryan, were second baseman Jack Starling, first baseman Jim Wright and catcher Nelson Cronkright.
Both Starling and Cronkright played key roles in the game-winning rally of the first game against Reading. Starling had a single and Cronkright drove in the winning run with a fly ball.
McArdle then went on to Tacoma, Wash., in July 1980 to represent the United States in the ISC World Tournament, which McArdle won by beating Canada 3-0 in the title game.
The 1979 ASA tourney was hosted by the Midland Redcoats, a group of local softball enthusiasts who worked tireless hours before and during the event to make it a success.
For those of us in the media, it was a fun time. We got to watch and write about some of the top fastpitch players of that era. Among them were pitcher Ty Stofflet and slugging first baseman Jeff Seip of Reading. Also notable were outfielders Bill Stewart of Seattle and Ray Allen of Santa Rosa, Calif.
In perusing the Daily News archives, I found stories we did about the Schlossers and their tasty French fries, about prominent ASA commissioners, about McArdle’s chicken mascot, and about hand-woven gloves.
There were interesting personalities such as umpire-in-chief Merrit Watson, ASA Executive Director Don Porter, McArdle’s statistics man the late Greg Bell, and Mitchell Mick, the radio voice of the ASA.
Helping me with coverage was Paul Neumeyer, then a college student and now sports editor of the Saginaw News, and Steve Griffin, now a longtime freelance outdoor writer for the Daily News.
This will be the ISC’s first trip to Midland. Hopefully, we will welcome these players and their fans as enthusiastically as we did those ASA players and fans in 1979.
It is true that men’s fastpitch teams are no longer as numerous as they were 31 years ago. But the elite teams coming in 2010 are just as talented as their predecessors.
So if you make your way to Currie Stadium during the tourney, I guarantee you’ll see some quality play and have a fun time as well.
Don Winger is the retired executive sports editor of the Daily News.
Smiling faces of the USA Jr. Women, off to Columbia for international competition. (Facebook login required to see photos of the team)
The Jr. Women will compete Aug. 2-15 at III Pan American Softball Championship (18-Under) in Bogota, Colombia.
Fastpitch softball tournaments kick off at Wallace Marine Park
(From the Statesman Journal)
Read more.
Rose City Merchants’ Brad Branch takes a cut during their game against Funky Monkey, from Hayward, Calif., during the opening day of the ASA Men’s A, B & West C Fast Pitch National Championships, at Wallace Marine Park, on Thursday, July 29, 2010. (TIMOTHY J. GONZALEZ | Statesman Journal)
It took just more than 10 hours Thursday, but the first day of play at the ASA Men’s A and Western C National softball tournaments at Wallace Marine Park in West Salem.
Jason Grow of JRW and Associates from Yakima, Wash., hit a 15th inning walk off-single to beat the all-Native American Rez Dawgs of LeMoore, Calif., in the final game of the day, pushing the planned opening ceremonies back by a half hour.
“Just tired. We played three games today, left was like a fourth,†Grow said. “Four games a day is too much.â€
The tournament is bringing some of the best talent Salem has every seen for a softball tournament.
Tournament director Billy Powers said that while some have brought more players, the men’s A has some of the best players in the country.
“This is the top, A level, and C level is as big as anything we’ve got prestige-wise,†Powers said. “It’s a step below the national team.â€
The tournaments run through Sunday. Games start at 9 a.m., 11:20 a.m., 1:40 p.m. and 4 p.m. today through Saturday, with 6:20 p.m. games Friday and Saturday
Championships: A Division at 11:20 a.m. (if necessary game at 1:40 p.m.); C Division at 1:40 p.m. (if necessary game at 4).
At “C” Nationals, 14-0 Roseville Eagles beat Team Jones, Gaspar throws a no-hitter.
Editor’s note: We’ve bumped this one back to the top, as revised Legends schedule was released today. The link below is the REVISED version, posted officially at the ISCfastpitch.com site.
Click here for the 2010 ISC LEGENDS (50+) tournament schedule of games and bracket.
50 is the new 40… or so they tell me…
Third in a series by Australia’s Mark Long:
Mark Long is a former Australian softballer who pitched Australia’s first World Championship U/19 Gold medal win in 1997. He created and now manages Australia’s leading high school based health program Eat It Work It Move It.
“Girls play fast pitch, boys play baseball”.
A quote heard at a lot ball parks across the US when the issue of junior boys or lack thereof pops up. Another favourite is, “It’s not like Australia or New Zealand where boys play”.
Just focussing on Australia The plain and simple truth is that boys don’t play softball en masse.
In summer, many play cricket, Australia’s national summer pastime.
In winter it is often one of four of the versions of football.
Of course there are many other sports played by kids across the country, but boy’s fastpitch softball doesn’t break into the top 20.
In a country with 21 million people, compared to the USA’s 300+ million, Softball Australia reported that 2034 boys played T- ball (10 and under), 2283 played across a variety of age groups up to 19 and under and 4510 male adults took the to diamond in 2009.
A grand total of 8827 male fastpitch players from the country that has won the last four junior world titles (1997, 2001, 2005 and 2008) and last year, the Men’s ISF crown in Saskatoon, Canada.
No doubt about it, Australia’s success comes down to quality, not quantity.
There is no question, in the age of sporting superstars that sign huge contracts with US pro teams and endorsement deals spinning out to seven or eight figure sums, it is easy to think “who would want to play fastpitch?”
Fastpitch practice: Jacob Lewis batting in the US last summer
Junior boys in action: Craig Lewis pitching in the US last summer.
Loving the sport: A young player at the NYSP camp in Quincy, Illinios 2002. This player was among those coached by Mark Long.
Thankfully, kids are pretty straight forward when it comes down to their interests.
Firstly, they will play what their mates play.
They want to be good enough to compete and not embarrassed and, like any human being, they will go where they feel like they belong.
And it is belonging, which is the core value of Generation Y.
Gazing into the future of USA fastpitch, a focus, and a serious focus on juniors is needed.
(click logo for official website)
lick here for brochure to ASA “A” Nationals in Salem, Oregon. (home to the 2002 NAFA World Series, for those who remember)
Click here for the Championship Bracket.
Click here for the Consolation Bracket
Editor’s Note: Our good friend Adam Brown of the Eastern Ontario Fastball Blog has the scoop on the new Team Quebec being formed for the 2010 Senior Men’s Canadian Nationals with players from Quyon Flyers and Donnacona Blue Sox, who finished 5th and 3rd respectively at the 2009 ISC II Tournament of Champions.
Team Quebec to compete at Canadian Senior Nationals
For the first time since 1995, there will be a team representing Quebec at the Canadian Men’s Senior National tournament this August / September in PEI.
As per the discussion going around the ball parks recently, it has been confirmed that an entry involving several familiar faces from the Greater Ottawa Fastball Leauge and area tournaments are combining efforts to play at the big dance.
Fitzroyfastball is pleased to provide an exclusive interview with Joe McCleary on the team.
Click here for the full interview.